Places within 3 hours of Phoenix

Under 1 hour from Phoenix 3 places

Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0

State park · 46 min east

Lost Dutchman State Park

Trails at the foot of the Superstition Mountains, gold with wildflowers in a good spring.

• 2-3 hrs
• Fall to spring
• State park entrance fee

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Photo: Greg Hume, CC BY-SA 3.0

National monument · 53 min southeast

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

See the four-story adobe Great House that Ancestral Sonoran Desert People built about 700 years ago, now under a large protective roof.

• 1-2 hrs
• Best October to April; open year-round
• Free

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Photo: Lar (primary) User:Lar (secondary), Public domain

Landmark · 33 min northeast

Taliesin West

Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and studio in the desert foothills, seen on a guided tour.

• 1.5-2 hrs
• Year-round
• Tour ticket

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1 to 2 hours from Phoenix 51 places

Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0

National monument · 1 hr 25 min north

Montezuma Castle National Monument

A five-story Sinagua cliff dwelling tucked in a limestone cliff above Beaver Creek.

• 1 hr
• Year-round
• NPS entrance fee (same pass covers Tuzigoot)

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Photo: ksblack99, Public domain

State park · 1 hr 47 min northeast

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park

What may be the world's largest travertine natural bridge, with trails down to the creek below it.

• 2 hrs
• Year-round (closed Christmas)
• State park entrance fee

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Photo: Seasider53, CC BY 4.0

Town · 1 hr 47 min north

Jerome

A former copper boomtown hanging off Cleopatra Hill, now full of galleries, tasting rooms and views.

• Half day
• Year-round
• None; paid parking in some town lots

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Photo: Keyany, CC BY-SA 4.0

Historic site · 1 hr 47 min southeast

Mission San Xavier del Bac

A white mission church from the late 1700s, still in use, with a richly painted and carved interior; people call it the White Dove of the Desert.

• 1-2 hrs
• Year-round
• Free (donations welcome)

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Photo: Benjamin Cody, CC BY-SA 3.0

Lake · 1 hr 38 min north

Watson Lake

A lake in the Granite Dells, a maze of rounded boulders great for paddling and scrambling.

• 2-3 hrs
• Year-round
• City of Prescott parking fee (free Wednesdays)

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Photo: M.Fitzsimmons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Zoo · 1 hr 44 min southeast

Reid Park Zoo

A friendly, easy-to-walk city zoo with elephants, giraffes and big cats, a good fit for families with young kids.

• 2-3 hrs
• Year-round; summer mornings only
• Admission

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More 1 to 2 hours from Phoenix, by type

History

Arcosanti (1 hr 5 min), Vulture City (1 hr 20 min), Fort Verde State Historic Park (1 hr 22 min), Crane Petroglyph Heritage Site (1 hr 34 min), Sharlot Hall Museum (1 hr 38 min), Verde Canyon Railroad (1 hr 43 min), Chapel of the Holy Cross (1 hr 46 min), Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (1 hr 47 min) and 6 more

Hikes

Picacho Peak State Park (1 hr 8 min), Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte (1 hr 39 min), Dead Horse Ranch State Park (1 hr 43 min), Cathedral Rock (1 hr 45 min), Catalina State Park (1 hr 45 min), Thumb Butte (1 hr 47 min), Red Rock State Park (1 hr 55 min), Fay Canyon (1 hr 56 min) and 3 more

Mountains & views

Montezuma Well (1 hr 33 min), Tohono Chul (1 hr 36 min), Saguaro National Park West (1 hr 42 min), Tuzigoot National Monument (1 hr 43 min), Gates Pass Scenic Overlook (1 hr 46 min), Sabino Canyon Recreation Area (1 hr 51 min), Airport Mesa (1 hr 51 min), Saguaro National Park East (2 hr)

Small towns

Wickenburg (1 hr 6 min), Downtown Prescott and Whiskey Row (1 hr 37 min), Old Town Cottonwood (1 hr 37 min), Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village (1 hr 48 min), Quartzsite (1 hr 49 min)

Beaches & lakes

Hassayampa River Preserve (1 hr 1 min), Crescent Moon Picnic Site (1 hr 55 min)

Wildlife

Sweetwater Wetlands (1 hr 33 min), Sedona Wetlands Preserve (1 hr 46 min)

Scenic drives

Schnebly Hill Road (1 hr 48 min), Oak Creek Canyon (1 hr 55 min)

Food & wine

Page Springs (1 hr 41 min)

2 to 3 hours from Phoenix 44 places

Photo: Mike Lewis, CC BY-SA 4.0

Cave · 2 hr 23 min southeast

Kartchner Caverns State Park

Take a guided walk through a living limestone cave that is still wet and growing, with formations so fragile the cave stayed secret for years after it was found.

• 2-3 hrs
• Year-round; Big Room tour only October 15 to April 15
• State park entrance fee (per vehicle), waived with a cave tour ticket; cave tours ticketed separately (reserve ahead)

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Photo: National Map Seamless Server, Public domain

Landmark · 2 hr 43 min northeast

Meteor Crater

A nearly mile-wide crater left by a meteorite 50,000 years ago, with a museum on the rim.

• 1-2 hrs
• Year-round
• Admission

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Photo: Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0

Town · 2 hr 47 min southeast

Tombstone

Walk the wooden boardwalks of Allen Street in the 1880s silver boomtown made famous by the Earps, then step into the 1882 county courthouse, now a museum, for the town's real story.

• Half day
• Year-round; best October to April
• Free to walk the town; Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park charges admission (per person)

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Photo: Mikesanchez1109, CC BY-SA 3.0

National monument · 2 hr 29 min north

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Walk lava flows and cinder fields at the foot of a volcano that erupted around 1085.

• 1-2 hrs
• Year-round
• NPS entrance fee (covers Wupatki too)

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Photo: WClarke, CC BY-SA 4.0

Scenic drive · 2 hr 50 min southeast

Mount Lemmon and the Catalina Highway

Climb from saguaro desert to pine forest in about an hour, with big viewpoints like Windy Point on the way up and pie and cabins in tiny Summerhaven near the top.

• Half day to full day
• Year-round; summer escape from the heat; winter can bring snow
• Free to drive; Coronado day-use fee (per vehicle) or America the Beautiful pass at fee picnic areas and trailheads

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Photo: Frederick Dennstedt from los angeles, usa, CC BY-SA 2.0

Ski area · 2 hr 30 min north

Arizona Snowbowl

Ski in winter; in summer and fall ride the scenic gondola up the San Francisco Peaks to an overlook near 12,000 feet.

• 2-4 hrs
• Winter skiing; scenic gondola late spring to fall
• Lift ticket or gondola ticket
• Confirm fees and hours before you go

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More 2 to 3 hours from Phoenix, by type

History

Palatki Heritage Site (2 hr 3 min), Riordan Mansion State Historic Park (2 hr 4 min), Lowell Observatory (2 hr 8 min), Honanki Heritage Site (2 hr 9 min), Museum of Northern Arizona (2 hr 11 min), Tumacácori National Historical Park (2 hr 20 min), Amerind Museum (2 hr 30 min), Parker Dam (2 hr 41 min) and 3 more

Hikes

Doe Mountain (2 hr 2 min), Colossal Cave Mountain Park (2 hr 9 min), Oracle State Park (2 hr 12 min), Humphreys Peak (2 hr 30 min), Lava River Cave (2 hr 31 min), Buckskin Mountain State Park (2 hr 39 min), Red Mountain Trail (2 hr 41 min), Cattail Cove State Park (2 hr 55 min)

Small towns

Downtown Flagstaff and Route 66 (2 hr 10 min), Tubac and Tubac Presidio (2 hr 18 min), Williams (2 hr 30 min), Seligman (2 hr 41 min), Winslow and La Posada (2 hr 51 min)

Mountains & views

Walnut Canyon National Monument (2 hr 15 min), Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (2 hr 25 min), Madera Canyon (2 hr 33 min), Kitt Peak National Observatory (2 hr 35 min), Wupatki National Monument (2 hr 48 min)

Beaches & lakes

Burro Creek Recreation Site (2 hr 3 min), Woods Canyon Lake and the Rim Road (2 hr 9 min), Patagonia Lake State Park (2 hr 51 min), Alamo Lake State Park (2 hr 55 min)

Food & wine

Sonoita and Elgin Wine Country (2 hr 28 min), Willcox Wine Country (2 hr 47 min)

Wildlife

Bearizona (2 hr 33 min), Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve (2 hr 42 min)

Waterfalls

Fossil Creek (2 hr 14 min)